IB or PWM?

I'm a current college soph deciding whether IB or PWM is the right path for me. I'm at a non target but am a part of my schools IB program that places pretty well if you're willing to put in the work (hold the congrats on Kelley comments cause I don't go there). 

Both options have positives for my interests and skillset (mainly quantitative and analytical nature for IB and market facing, relationship based, and entrepreneurial for PWM). My dad is a CFP making $500k+ being his own boss working maybe 30 hrs/week with insane flexibility, which obviously sounds like a dream to me and I know he'd be more than willing to hire me and help me eventually buy his book of business.

However, I am a bit conflicted as I've always been very ambitious and a big time self starter, and I want to spend some time building something for myself first even if I were to eventually join my dads business, so I've been thinking of staying on the IB path. Additionally, my dad is based out of a tier 2 city in the PNW, and I would like to at least try out a tier 1 city for some time (preferably chi, nyc, or sf)

I also think that IB experience could help me scale the business if I were to eventually take over, but I'm not sure if I should just do PWM from the start to have as much experience in that area as possible and to save myself the stress of IB if it's not going to help me in PWM.

Any advice is much appreciated.

5 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Nobody from Kelley is pondering PWM over IB….

Jokes aside, I get where you’re coming from, but you can also jump into PWM at 30 years old with zero experience, whereas that opportunity is generally nonexistent(without a $200K+ Top MBA) in IB. Investment Banking will make you mentally sharper, likely better at presenting, better at understanding the operational moat of businesses, more analytically meticulous, and will probably give you the differentiation, credibility, and confidence you need to win some whales in your book of business if you still want to go the PWM route. PWM should be your “fall back” if you have the opportunity to break into IB, if you really love the grind. But if you only want IB because it’s the “sexy” thing to do and are actually more passionate about helping individuals from a financial disposition, and aren’t too enthralled by the idea of 80 hour work weeks and bottom of the totem pole for the first few years because it’s simply not worth your energy, then PWM it is.

 

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